All about the first ever Premier League Winter break

Premier League pauses for its first-ever winter break this month, with an intention of giving every club some much needed time-off following the hectic Christmas and January period. 

The winter break was first confirmed back in 2018, and this is how it is going to work. So the primary question is, when does the winter break start?

The best way possible could’ve been where the whole division shuts down for a set period of time but the Premier League way is a bit staggered. That means there will be top-flight football played throughout the month of February. 

The original plan was for eight clubs to take a break first and the remaining 12 to have their break when the other eight have returned back to action. The FA Cup though, made sure this does not happen.

There is also an FA Cup controversy pertaining to it.  A handful of Premier League clubs such as Liverpool, Newcastle United, Southampton and Tottenham will be playing an FA Cup fourth-round replay this week, which has eaten their winter break. 

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been vocal and direct in his opposition to this scheduling and declared earlier that an Under-23 side will contest the Reds’ replay against Shrewsbury Town, which they ultimately won 1-0. 

The FA responded to it by saying that during summer, every club was made aware of it and they accepted the possibility of having the FA Cup replays during the break. Klopp hit back by saying all those who are ‘sports-responsible’ were not consulted. 

The final question is that which clubs have the maximum time off. Chelsea and Manchester United are the clubs leading with 15 days each.

 Aston Villa, Everton, West Ham and Watford, all have a 14-day gap while Arsenal, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Norwich have a 13-day break and Bournemouth, Burnley, Leicester City, Manchester City, Sheffield United and Wolves have a 12-day gap. 

Newcastle United have an 11-day gap while Liverpool and Spurs have 10 days each, although, the Reds will be getting some extra days due to Klopp mentioning the fact that he will be  fielding the Under-23’s to contest the replay. Southampton have the least days with only nine days to get back to action. 

featured image credits-  standard.co.uk